CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Pison, Oto |
|---|---|
| Title | HOW DOES THE RISE OF CHINESE WATER NEEDS INFLUENCE INDIAN WATER RELATIONS WITH PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH IN THE 21ST CENTURY? |
| Summary | It is a generally acknowledged fact that water is gradually becoming one of the most important strategic resources of the 21st century. Tendencies of rising population, economic growth, more water demanding diets, as well as climate change and resulting institutional and social instability pose a threat to the balance of regional security in many corners of the world. In addition to these effects, some upstream countries increase their share of transboundary rivers by unilaterally altering their flow, affecting thus all downstream neighbors. This thesis examines one of the most important hot-spots in the world, where all these issues are combined; the Indian sub-continent. The above mentioned effects are subject to extensive scholarly debate ranging from protagonists of "water wars" to those who see water scarcity as a tool for cooperation. By comparing the humid Brahmaputra and the arid Indus river basins, the thesis scrutinizes these assumptions. It supports the argument that regional disparities within states matter, however it is not water scarcity per se that triggers conflict, but unilateral, man-made projects. Additionally, it explains why China will have a bigger impact on Indo-Bangladeshi relations as opposed to Indo-Pakistani ones, even though the river characteristics show the opposite. Furthermore, the thesis regards water issues as a facilitator of cooperation and develops a theoretical and empirical framework, which is applicable to the four researched countries, and explains their motivations for and the constraints of their collaboration. |
| Supervisor | Fumagalli, Matteo |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/pison_oto.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University